Julien Prelat Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut Millesime, Champagne, France 2021

Julien Prélat is a small, highly individual grower Champagne (récoltant-manipulant) based in Celles-sur-Ource, Côte des Bar. He took over three generations of family vigneron tradition and established his own domaine in 2000, later launching his own label. The estate is tiny, about 2.5 hectares according to the Guide Hachette.

What makes Prélat especially interesting is his single-parcel, single-vintage, single-variety philosophy. Rather than blending wines to create a consistent house style, he says his philosophy is essentially not to blend: each cuvée is built around a particular year, parcel and grape variety, allowing the individual terroir to come through.

Millésime Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut 2021 is a tiny-production, collector-focused Champagne from Celles-sur-Ource in the Côte des Bar. It is 100% Pinot Noir from the Chantemerle parcel, where the vines were planted in 1982 on Kimmeridgian soils. The wine is barrel-fermented in three-year-old Burgundy barrels, giving it a more vinous, textured character than Prélat's regular cuvées. With only 2 g/L dosage, it balances richness with freshness and the chalky, saline character of the Aube. Expect ripe red and yellow fruit, citrus peel, spice, subtle oak, and a long, mineral finish. Prélat describes the Millésime as rich, complex and distinctly wine like.